United
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Skye and Ward have an emotional reunion after he is released from SHIELD custody.


**I don't own Agents of SHIELD and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

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Grant wanted to see the rest of the team after he was escorted out of the military base, but he only had one person on his mind – Skye. He had missed her so much during his imprisonment that it had been hard to deal with. Turning himself in – after Skye and the others convinced him to do the right thing – had been the best decision he could have made. SHIELD had gone easy on him, thus why he was being freed early. And surprisingly and fortunately for Grant, the team was welcoming him back with open arms. They hadn't forgiven him yet, but were willing to. He would take it. And the minute he saw Skye, everything came back into focus for Grant. He literally bolted to her side. "I love you," he whispered brokenly.

She wasn't much better. "Love you too," she sobbed. Skye had been miserable these past few months, but her life was definitely improving now that Grant was back.

"I feel like we're watching a real life romantic comedy." That came from Jemma, who shrugged when everyone looked at her. She didn't want Skye to be in pain anymore, but she was still wary of Grant. She'd be watching over him for a long time and knew that she wasn't alone.

Grant gasped when Skye grabbed his hand and lowered it to her expanding stomach. He had known of her pregnancy, but it was different when he could see her with his own eyes. "Your daughter is saying hi." She beamed when the baby placed a well-timed kick at her father's hand.

"Holy shit."

"I know, right?" Seven months pregnant, Skye was still trying to adjust to the changes her body experienced daily. She couldn't wait to meet the child she and Grant had made. And fuck, definitely still weird to think about.

"We should probably get out of here and head back to the Bus." Tired of waiting around and watching the reunion unfold before her eyes, May smiled at them.

"I am pretty tired," Skye admitted. Seems like all she did lately was nap.

"Are you okay?" Grant wished he hadn't missed most of her pregnancy, but he knew he had made the right choice. And hopefully their child would have a better life growing up than either of them did.

She nodded. "Pregnancy takes a lot of you. I plan to make sure you find exactly how."

The look of terror on his face sent everyone into laughter, and they followed each other back to the Bus. Hand in hand the entire way, Skye and Grant refused to be separated. Coulson tried to figure out ways to part them temporarily so he could talk to Grant alone, but it wasn't happening. He eventually gave up and decided to make sure everyone heard. "You hurt her and I'll fucking kill you myself," he threatened.

Skye's mouth dropped open. "AC!"

But Grant understood and he rushed to reassure their leader that he didn't plan on doing so at all. "I figured. But I don't plan on hurting her." He'd fuck it up eventually, but he didn't want to purposely hurt her again. He'd done enough of that.

"Good." He clapped Grant on the back of the shoulder and then went to talk to FitzSimmons about something.

And as soon as May vanished, they turned to each other and started frantically kissing. "We should go back to one of our rooms," he murmured.

"Sounds like a good plan. But fair warning – I'm probably going to nap. You good with that?"

Grant nodded. "Sure." He wasn't about to pressure her into anything she didn't want to do.

Skye lay down as soon as they entered her room and pulled on his sleeve. "Come cuddle me," she ordered.

"Really?" Grant wasn't much for cuddling. And he also didn't think he could be the man Skye wanted him to be. It wasn't in him to be good.

"Yes, really. Sit your ass down."

He snorted and did exactly as Skye asked. He then took her into his arms and beamed. "This is nice," Grant reluctantly conceded a few minutes later.

"Told you. So, you excited about the baby?" They had had exactly one conversation about her pregnancy before today. She wanted to see how he was dealing with it compared to a few months earlier.

Grant bit his lip and decided to be honest. "I'm going to be a shit father. I'm going to fuck this kid up because I don't know what the fuck to do. I haven't exactly had the best parental figures in my life."

"And you think I know what do? I have no clue, but I know we can figure this out today. And we have the others – they love us and will make sure we don't fail. This baby is going to have so much love in her life. And we can learn together."

It was hard to argue against that. He placed a hand on her stomach again and felt their child kick. "You can nap with that going on?"

Skye loved how much he already seemed to care about this baby. She was going to make sure he didn't drown in his darkness – she was going to be that kept him afloat when he felt like drowning. Then she realized she hadn't answered him. "Sometimes she keeps me up, but it's not too bad. Yet, anyway."

Still wary of believing he could ever be a good father, Grant asked her some more questions to calm himself down before Skye finally fell asleep. He followed her in less than ten minutes. When she woke up later, starving, he had his first experience with her mood swings. Skye dropped her container of leftovers – the lid closed, thankfully – and started crying. He fearfully turned his attention to Coulson. "This is normal – you'll get used to it. Go calm her down."

Grant immediately pulled Skye into his arms. "They're fine. Skye, nothing happened to your food. You can still eat it. I'll even pick the container up and heat it for you. You happy with that?" He cringed in anticipation, waiting for more crying.

"Sorry," she apologized as she slowly got herself under control. She hated how hormonal she was, but it wasn't just because of the pregnancy. Everything had gone to hell since HYDRA had come out of hiding. They were losing the war now and SHIELD was gaining traction, but they all still lived in fear.

"Don't be sorry. I should be the one apologizing." Grant knew he'd have to spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to Skye and their family for his actions. He had no problem with that.

Her face softened and she hugged him. "I'm going to keep doing that for as long as you need me to."

"It's nice," he reluctantly admitted.

"Good. I'm glad." And then she pushed him to go heat up her leftovers. He couldn't help but stare at her and grin when Skye looked so happy once her heated food was handed over.

Grant and the others gradually re-adjusted to his return and slowly started to trust each other again. Scrabble nights continued, and Grant didn't complain (much) when Jemma continued to use her Britishness against them.

When Skye finally went into labor two months after his return – and nine days past her due date (everyone was on edge by that point) – Ward was right by her side. Since they didn't trust hospitals because of HYDRA's influence, she was giving birth on the grounded Bus with Jemma's help. "Can you come in with us?" Skye asked May.

Shock registered on her face. "You want my support?"

Grant nodded. "You mean a lot to us, May. We want your help."

"Sorry, but I'm going to stay far away," chirped in Leo.

"Yeah, I don't want to see any of it. Sorry." Coulson smiled at them.

"That's fine with me." A contraction rose up within her and Skye grabbed purchase of the chair she was sitting in. She whimpered and tried to take deep breaths, but it wasn't helping.

Grant panicked. "Somebody do something!"

Jemma touched his hand. "Ward, calm down. It's going to get worse from here. You need to be strong for her. And I know you can do that."

Six hours passed and the contractions started to come closer together and worsen. "Fuck! Who the fuck does this more than once willingly?" Skye wished she had an epidural, but that wasn't happening.

"I'm sorry." Grant felt guilty that he put in her position and couldn't do anything to help.

Skye grabbed his hand and squeezed. When May held out hers, she gladly took it. "Helps," she gasped.

Jemma checked again. "You're nine centimeters dilated. So close to the end! We're almost there."

"You're not almost anything!" Skye snapped.

"You're going to hold your beautiful baby soon. Just focus on that," May encouraged. Her hand was starting to kill her, but she refused to say anything.

Skye's face changed. "Gotta push," she murmured.

"Go ahead," Jemma encouraged. Based on what she was seeing, she wasn't sure if she ever wanted to get pregnant now. When the baby's head started to crown, Jemma asked if anyone wanted to see.

"I'll look." An eager Grant reluctantly left his girlfriend's side and blanched immediately.

May gave him a disbelieving book. "You are a murderer and a baby coming out of a vagina makes you sick? Men!"

"You look!" he cried.

She rolled her eyes and did exactly that. The look on her face was comical. "Oh my God."

"I told you."

"Can you two not do this right now?" Skye groaned and pushed again.

And at all once, the pain disappeared. A few seconds later, their baby's cries pierced the air.

Outside the door, Coulson and Leo stopped pacing. "Finally!" Coulson sagged in relief and leaned against the wall.

Skye started crying the minute her daughter was placed in her arms. "Hi you."

Grant couldn't stop staring. "She's ours," he said in disbelief.

A sweaty Skye looked at him. "She is. Hello, Grace."

"We're sticking with that name?" Grant had actually picked it out, but he didn't think she liked it.

She nodded. "Yup, she's a Grace. Grace Annabelle Ward."

"Welcome to the world, Gracie," he murmured.

After everything was taken care of, Jemma and May left the family of three alone. "You can meet the baby later. Let them have some alone time now," May told the boys. They looked disappointed, but followed the two women into another room.

Skye patted the bed. "Scoot up here with us."

"You sure?" Grant didn't want to hurt either of them – he was absolutely terrified of that.

"Yes, I'm sure. Get your ass up here and look at our daughter."

He carefully got into the bed and wrapped his arms around her. This was something he'd have or deserved. For the first time in a long time (maybe ever), Grant Ward had a home and felt safe. Skye and Grace (and the others, he'd grudgingly admit) meant the world to him. And finally he could relax.


End file.
